NEW EVIDENCE FOR HIGH GENETIC DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN PACIFIC AND ATLANTIC POPULATIONS OF SOUTH AMERICAN FUR SEAL, Arctocephalus australis

TUNEZ, JUAN I.; CAPPOZZO, H.L.; PAVÉS, H.J.; ALBAREDA, D.; CASSINI, M.H.

Florianopolis

Congreso; XIV REUNIAO DE TRABALHO DE ESPECIALISTAS EM MAMIFEROS AQUATICOS DA AMERICA DO SUL (RT); 2010

SOLAMAC

The South American fur seal, Arctocephalus australis, is distributed along 10,000 km of the southern coast of South America, with breeding colonies clumped in three main segments of coast. Previous genetic studies suggest that Uruguay and northern Chile-central Peru, the most distant clumps of colonies, are completely isolated and that each population corresponds to a different Evolutionarily Significant Units. Here, we analyzed the genetic differentiation between Uruguay and the other clump, southern Chile-Isla de los Estados, for which no previous genetic studies were performed. Using a 529 bp segment of the mitochondrial control region, we found 26 haplotypes in 54 individuals. The genealogical relationship between haplotypes revealed a deep pattern of phylogeographic structure, with two main groups of haplotypes that correspond to the different breeding clumps. The Analysis of Molecular Variance also supported this result, indicating significant differences between Atlantic and Pacific colonies. Moreover, colonies from Uruguay and southern Chile-Isla de los Estados showed reciprocal monophyly. Thus, our results suggest that these two breeding areas would correspond to different ESUs, as was described previously for the most distant clumps of colonies. A more detailed study, including nuclear markers, would help to clarify the current conservation status of the species and to develop appropriate conservation strategies.